The march by torchlight – attended by upwards of 10,000
people – is an annual event to mark Hungary’s Holocaust
Memorial Day. This year it commemorated the life and
work of Scottish missionary Jane Haining, who protected
her Hungarian Jewish pupils during WW2, and who died in
Auschwitz. Mr Mundell was asked by the organisers to
speak at the event and lead the march.
Mr Mundell said:
It was a huge honour, and a great privilege, to lead
the March of the Living to mark Hungary’s Holocaust
Memorial Day. I was very proud that the 2019 march
remembered Scottish missionary Jane Haining.
An extraordinary, brave and selfless woman, Jane
Haining sacrificed herself to protect Jewish
schoolgirls in Budapest during the Second World War.
Her unwavering devotion saw her lose her life in
Auschwitz 75 years ago, aged just 47. She is a hero
of which all of Scotland, Hungary and the world can
be proud.
The Holocaust was undoubtedly one of the darkest
times in human history, but the courage and personal
sacrifice of individuals like Jane Haining give us
hope for the future.
While in Budapest Mr Mundell also visited the Dohány
Street Synagogue, and joined worshippers at the St
Columba’s Church of Scotland (next door to the former
site of the Scottish Mission school where Jane Haining
worked).
The Rev Aaron Stevens, Minister of St Columba’s Church
of Scotland in Budapest, said:
Jane Haining’s service and sacrifice shows that
caring for people from different backgrounds in no
way compromises our faith. In fact, it just might be
the fullest expression of it.
Since I’ve had a chance to hear women share their
childhood memories of the Scottish Mission, I
treasure every opportunity to pass on those stories.
As an English-speaking church in Budapest with an
international congregation, it is natural for us to
be involved in outreach among refugees. Compassion
and hospitality is in our church’s DNA.
Jane Haining (6 June 1897 – 17 July 1944) was a Church
of Scotland missionary. She worked in Budapest from
June 1932 as matron of the Scottish Mission School, a
boarding house for Jewish and Christian girls run by
the Scottish Mission to the Jews.
After World War II broke out the Church of Scotland
advised Haining to return to the UK, but she decided to
stay in Hungary to look after her Jewish pupils who
were facing persecution. She wrote at the time “if
these children need me in days of sunshine, how much
more do they need me in days of darkness?”.
Ms Haining was arrested by the Gestapo in April 1944 on
a number of charges, including that “she had wept” when
sewing the yellow stars on the clothes of her Jewish
pupils, as required by law. She died in
Auschwitz-Birkenau a few months later.
Ms Haining was recognized in 1997 by Yad Vashem (the
World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Israel) as
‘Righteous Among the Nations’, an honour awarded to
non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the
Holocaust.
Jane Haining was born in the village of Dunscore in
Dumfrieshire. A cairn in her memory stands outside
Dunscore Parish Church, and a memorial to her life was
opened inside the Church in January 2018. It features
photographs, letters, documents and other personal
effects relating to the missionary. Mr Mundell visited
the memorial and heritage centre just ahead of the
march [on Friday 12 April].
